Hope Springs Eternal
by Connor846
Summary: Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always To be Blest. Firefly/Serenity Crossover with Superman/DC Comics.
1. The Cargo

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Firefly/Serenity (A show done before it's time), or the DC Comic and the places described here. No copyright infringement intended and no monetary profit. This is purely for testing my own creativity.

_Connor _

**Authors Note:** As always, I am constantly working to refine my writing technique to deliver as good of a story that I can for you, the readers, to enjoy. Constructive reviews are appreciated and negative criticism will be ignored.**

* * *

****2520  
****Persephone  
****Cargo loading Area**

To say that Captain Malcolm Reynolds was uneasy would be an understatement.

They had received a call a day earlier from their "associate", and sometimes fence, Badger. He had informed them that he had a cargo to move that was quite "hush-hush".

Mal had dealt with Badger on several occasions, enough to know that something wasn't right with the little man. He had a nervous look and several beads of sweat poured down his face.

After a rigorous questioning session Badger had admitted that he was being pressured to move this cargo and move it fast. He had thought of Mal and crew who were keeping quite a low profile after the Miranda affair.

And now they were face to face with the weasel himself, standing out in the open near the landing area, only a couple of guards in sight.

Mal looked over at the diminutive brunette that walked down the loading ramp with him. Her name was River Tam and she, in addition to his finely honed instincts, was his weather vane in situations like this. This combination had turned Serenity's fortunes around after the mishaps on Miranda. By Mal's last count they had avoided 23 alliance patrols, 15 holdups, 8 double crosses, 3 scams … and one bounty hunter.

_I'd say we're doing alright_ he thought to him self.

Looking back he glanced at the figures still standing in the loading bay of _Serenity_. His eye caught the slim profile of Inara Serra Reynolds, his wife. It had been a tumultuous courtship over the last few years, but both had surrendered to the passion and the blossoming romance.

Turning his attention back towards River he raised an eyebrow, asking silently if they were about to be double crossed. River did a slow look over the field and shook her head in a negative fashion.

Mal snorted.

"Shit, there's a first time for everything. I guess Badger was actually being straight with us. He's got a hot cargo and it needs to move fast" he said.

"I still don't like this Mal" said a voice from behind him.

The owner of that voice was a giant strapping individual who went by the name of Jane Cobb. He had started off as Mal's hired Mercenary and had only looked out for himself. Over the years that he had shipped with Mal and crew though, he had changed. He had dropped the selfish reservations and come to accept _Serenity_ as his second home and the crew as family.

And River had come to accept him as something more … if the noises coming from their bunk were any indication.

Acknowledging Jane's uneasiness with a grunt of his own, he started moving forward again.

"I don't like it much either Jane, keep an eye out for anything"

Clearing his head of those thoughts he advanced down the ramp and raised his hand in greeting towards the figure in the bowler hat standing before him.

"Alright Badger, let's get this over and done with"

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Badger watched the loading ramp of _Serenity_ lift up and the engines swivel up into a takeoff position. Applying power, the little pilot of Mal's gracefully pulled the cargo ship up into a reverse pattern of a falling leaf, eventually clearing up and off into the sky.

_Good Riddance _he thought t_hat damn cargo was making me too nervous. Why the hell did the client have to tell me that it came from the Advanced Design Bureau of the Alliance shipyard over Osiris?_

Wiping his brow of the nervous sweat that had accumulated there, he and his bodyguard made their way back towards his office. He had to call the customer and let him know that the shipment was on its way.

Much to his surprise he found said client sitting in his chair in his office. The client slowly swiveled around to face Badger with a smug look on his face, placing his booted feet up on his desk.

"Excuse me Mr. Wing, but you seem to have taken up residence in my chair. Our business has been concluded and I'll kindly have you remove your feet from my desk."

Still with the smug look on his face, Wing leaned back in his chair and said nothing.

He motioned for his guards to remove the arrogant little snot, only to have nothing happen. Turning around he saw them stiff at attention, their weapons gone, and pistol barrels being held to their heads by another set of heavily armed men.

Atherton Wing let out a small chuckle at the situation, which grew to a hearty laugh. Badger finally realized, at the worst possible time, that there was something wrong with Wing. He had the look of the crazy in his eye.

Atherton pulled his feet off the desk and stood, coming around the front part towards Badger.

"Did Reynolds and _Serenity_ get off with the cargo?" he said.

"Yeah, that they did mate. I was just coming to call you and tell you that." Said Badger.

A wide grin spread over Wing's face. "Finally, that bastard is going to get what's coming to him" he said "And Inara will rue the day that she chose him over me"

"If you don't mind me asking, what the fuck is going on here?"

As if finally realizing that he was there, Wing focused his gaze on him and said:

"Oh nothing much, just the complete and utter destruction of Malcolm Reynolds and everything he holds dear. You see, my good Sir … that 'cargo' that you helped move for me is actually an experimental engine design that the Alliance engineers have been working on for quite some time. It was stolen and now they want it back, very badly. And I'm going to give it to them … with Reynolds head on a platter."

A sigh of relief went out of Badger.

"Oh, is that all. I could give a rat's ass what you do to Reynolds, so long as I make my money."

"Ah, but you see Mr. Badger … you know that I am the one who gave you the cargo. Ergo, it can be traced back to me. I can't have that since I went through all that trouble to plant the evidence implicating Reynolds."

With that statement Atherton produced a rather large revolver from behind his back and aimed it at Badger. With a curt nod to his men, he looked right at him and cocked the trigger.

Shots sounded behind him with blood spraying in a pattern, indicating that his two guards were now dead.

"You see Mr. Badger, this is just business. With Reynolds, its personal." Said Wing.

With that statement, he pulled the trigger, firing a shot directly into Badgers chest. A look of shock came over Badgers face, his hands flying to the wound. He sank slowly to his knees and pitched over face first.

"Huh, I thought there was going to be a little more blood than that. Oh well, lets get out of here" said Atherton.

He and his men walked out leaving behind the three bodies behind. He had bigger fish to attend to, starting as soon as he got into his limo.


	2. The Setup

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Firefly/Serenity (A show done before it's time), or the DC Comic and the places described here. No copyright infringement intended and no monetary profit. This is purely for testing my own creativity.

_Connor _

**Authors Note:** As always, I am constantly working to refine my writing technique to deliver as good of a story that I can for you, the readers, to enjoy. Constructive reviews are appreciated and negative criticism will be ignored.

* * *

**Persephone  
****Atherton Wing's limo  
****Outside Cargo Area**

Atherton Wing was quite pleased with himself.

Everything was going according to plan. He had the cargo installed on board _Serenity_, the go between man was eliminated, and he just had to let the regional Governor know where the cargo was.

Yes, he was _quite_ pleased with himself.

"Sir?" said the guard from the front seat. "The call is open to the Governor's office, we've secured the line and blacked out the screen like you asked."

"Excellent."

Taking a small voice distorter and placing it on his throat, he turned towards his screen and said:

"Governor Alistair, what a pleasure it is to finally speak to you"

"Look wiseass, I don't have time for pranks. The only reason I'm even talking to you right now is that you have access to a level two clearance code which is only given to President Luthor's cabinet. You have two minutes before I hang up."

A dry chuckle came from Wing's throat. Thank you cousin Dumont for letting your access code drunkenly slip.

"My dear Sir" he said "I wouldn't presume to waste your time. I assume you have heard of the 'Galactica' project being worked on at the Utopia shipyards?"

An immediate look of suspicion crossed the governor's face.

"Yes. I've heard of it. What about it?"

"I also assume that you heard of the theft that happened there a week ago?"

"Yes. I have my ships searching suspicious vessels in the sector."

"What if I could tell you exactly where it is and who has it?"

**XXXX**

Governor Alistair leaned forward on his desk, the communication with the stranger ended.

_Can I trust the word of a stranger?_ He thought. _Can I _not_ trust him? If I don't, and its found out that I let the experiment slip through my fingers … _

A shudder ran through him at that thought. He new full well what the price of failure at this level was. He would be made to resign his position, forced into an exile at his summer estate, only to suffer a 9mm brain hemorrhage at some later date after he faded from public view.

"Gordon! Get in here!" he barked for his aide.

"Yes Sir!" was the reply from his outer office, as the aide jumped out of his chair and almost ran into his boss's office.

"What cruisers do we have patrolling the Delta Quadrant, specifically near sector A56-7W?"

The aide swiftly retrieved the PDA at his belt and started punching in some queries. After a short pause the device beeped at him and he said:

"Sir, that's near the planet Persephone, correct? Well, it appears that the _Los Angeles_, _Saigon_, _Rio Grande_, _Berlin_, and the _Illustrious_ are all within 3 to 4 hour range of that particular section of space"

"Very well. Order all five to take up pursuit and capture of the cargo vessel _Serenity_ that will be cruising through that area of space. The captain, Malcolm Reynolds, is responsible for the theft of a highly classified piece of Alliance equipment. The ship is to be captured intact so that the equipment is not damaged"

"Yes Sir, I'll issue the warrant and the orders right away"

Gordon executed a precise salute and swiftly turned on his heal towards his desk.

Alistair leaned back and contemplated the future. If it was true that Reynolds had the engine, then Alistair would be celebrated as a hero. If he didn't, well … who was going to miss one little cargo vessel in the deep reaches of the black.

**XXXX**

**M/V Serenity  
****The 'Black'  
****An hour out of Persephone**

River Tam leaned back with a sigh as she engaged the auto-pilot. The course was laid in for Ares, their destination, and the radar was set to warn her if anything should come up on them or cross their path.

Rising out of the seat she moved her lithe dancers' body and sat down on the floor behind the pilots' chair. Over a year ago the crew of _Serenity_ had spent some time at the Shang-hi Buddhist temple while Mal and Inara had gone on their honeymoon.

During her time there she had learned meditation techniques from the monks. To her surprise they had a great effect on the disorder that ran rampant in her mind. She found that, with regular occurrences of peace and mediation, she might almost be termed … normal. Well … as normal as a 19 year old ex-assassin might get.

Then there was also the added benefit of dredging out whatever else the Alliance had poisoned her mind with.

Sinking down into the relaxed pose that precipitated the session, she let the process start.

Something had been bothering her for the past week. Ever since they heard the news report of a major theft and the damage to the Utopia shipyards, she had been getting indistinct flashes of danger. And … something else.

She didn't understand what a diamond shaped pattern overlaid in a field of blue, had to do with anything.

Calming the distractions in her mind, one by one, she began to enter the void that her mind produced. All around her was blackness , she floated, calm and serenity settling in her.

This wasn't to last however. Images began to form, indistinctly at first … but with a sudden swiftness they clarified.

She saw another place, a planet, as one would see it from space. The green and abundant continents matched only by their startling seas of vivid blue. The sight of this planet filled her with a longing down to the primal depths of her core. She didn't know why, but it was home.

This image faded, to be replaced by a bald man in an antique business suit. He stood inside a skyscraper, looking out over all that he held dominion over. As if sensing her presence he turned and faced her, an evil arrogant sneer creeping across the patrician features that he held. Fear raced inside River. This man was evil.

The disturbing image faded, to be replaced by endless fields of snow and ice. Nestled among the craggy cliffs and ice crevices was a grand crystalline structure. It's peaks seemed to seek out the sun that hung in the sky. The majesty and grandeur spoke of an ancient civilization whose power would humble and awe the Alliance.

The Crystal peaks were replaced with an image of clouds set amongst a bright vivid blue sky. Among them floated a man. He was clothed in a dark blue body suit, with a dark red cape hanging from his shoulders. Suspended in mid-air, nothing seeming to hold him up, the man slowly rotated to face her, his head crowned with a thick mass of black hair as he looked down upon his chest. There, displayed proudly for all to see, was a red diamond with a stylized S figure set into it.

River gasped. This was what she had been seeing in her previous meditations.

The figure raised his head to look directly at her. The other-worldly cerulean gaze captured hers. However … she didn't feel frightened. Instead, she found a sense of calm … peace … trust … and hope.

The man moved closer and raised his hand. It came to rest upon her shoulder and, for the first time, one of her visions spoke.

"It is time to remember, River" he said. "You and your family are in grave danger. Wake now, and you will know what to do".

With that, there was a bright flash and River found herself back in Serenity's cockpit, still sitting in her mediation position. A word fell from unbidden from her lips. A word not mentioned in close to 500 years, thought by the upper echelon of the Alliance to have been erased from human history and thought.

"Superman"


	3. Fight or Flight

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Firefly/Serenity (A show done before it's time), or the DC Comic and the places described here. No copyright infringement intended and no monetary profit. This is purely for testing my own creativity.

_Connor _

**Authors Note:** As always, I am constantly working to refine my writing technique to deliver as good of a story that I can for you, the readers, to enjoy. Constructive reviews are appreciated and negative criticism will be ignored.

* * *

**M/V Serenity Bridge  
****The 'Black'  
****An hour out of Persephone**

_A word fell from unbidden from her lips. A word not mentioned in close to 500 years, thought by the upper echelon of the Alliance to have been erased from human history and thought_

"_Superman" _

**XXXX**

Malcolm Reynolds was beside himself.

The pickup had gone well, no sign of Alliance patrols, Badger had handed over the money without … well … badgering about it and the takeoff had gone surprisingly smooth.

It was too smooth. Something was bound to go drastically wrong.

Such was his mindset when he walked onto Serenity's bridge and found his little albatross in her 'meditation' pose. Down right weird that was, but hey … if it helped the person who was the closest thing he had to a daughter … he wasn't going to complain.

As he entered, however, a whispered word fell from her lips that he couldn't make out and she sprang from her position.

"Captain Daddy!" She said "We're going to be in dan-"

The communications console beeped.

Mal raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged and pointed at the console.

_Yep, I'm not gonna like this_ he thought.

Punching in the receiving code he was greeted by the unsmiling face of Badger.

"Hey-o Badger, finally figure out that you didn't swindle us out of-"

"Cut the crap Mal" said the image of Badger "You've got bad trouble coming quickly"

"Now why am I not surprised?" replied Mal.

"It's worse than you think. Does the name Atherton Wing ring a bell to you?"

Mal's face darkened noticeably.

"I reckon it might. Why?"

"Well, that git was the client who wanted that cargo shipped. He reneged on our deal and then shot me for good measure. I'd be taking a right fancy dirt nap if I hadn't worn the Kevlar today."

Mal considered this for a minute before asking:

"What'd he say he was gonna do Badger?"

"He rambled on some crap about you getting yours and the evidence pointing to you. I should let you know that the cargo you're carrying came from the Utopia shipyards"

A long string of Chinese and English curses filled the air as Mal swore up and down.

"Alright, we're dumping the cargo and heading back to Persephone. You'll get your money back after we take a percentage for carrying it this far."

"It won't do you any good, Mal. My source inside the Governors office says they've issued a warrant for you and the crew … and they've sent five cruisers after you. Keep the money Mal. You're screwed."

Another beeping noise came from the console.

"Badger … I think that's our reception committee trying to call. We'll let you know how we do."

"Fair 'nough Mal. Godspeed. And I'll keep an eye out for Wing. I owe the bastard fer this one."

"No. You leave him to me. He's gone to far this time. Just keep an eye out for where he goes."

"Righty mate. Good luck."

With that the screen went dark and then was replaced by the stern visage of an Alliance Captain.

"Captain Malcolm Reynolds you are hereby bound by law under the charge of stealing and transporting classified Alliance material. Bring your vessel to a stop and prepare to accept Alliance soldiers on board."

A tense silence pervaded the cockpit.

"Did you hear me Captain? You have three hours till we reach your location. Shut down your engines and prepare for boarding."

Mal reached up and flicked off the communications. Turning to River he said:

"Take off, full blast. Put as much distance between us and them, give us some breathing room to figure out what to do. After you set the course, meet us down in the cargo bay. I want to see what the hell is causing us all this trouble."

"Yes Captain Daddy" she replied, moving over to the pilots' chair.

**XXXX**

Ten minutes later the crew was gathered in the cargo bay with Jayne and Kaylee attacking the large crate with crowbars and hammers. The sides and top came off revealing a long large tubular array with two moving parts on each end.

"What the hell?" said Simon?

Kaylee and River moved over to the accompanying crates that were set off to the side. Breaking off the top River reached in and found a manual resting on top of what looked like a control console. She handed it off to Kaylee who turned and started reading it out loud to the crew.

"This here says Advanced Design Bureau … Utopia Yards … Faster Than Light engine … Model TOK-715 Jump Drive. First paragraph says '_TOK-715; designed for the creation of wormhole travel and near instantaneous jumping from one point of space to another_"

The crew seemed to sit back and take that in.

"So if I understand this right" said the First Mate, Zoe Washburn "This … jump drive … can transport a ship from one place to another in less than a second?"

"That would explain why the Alliance wants it back so bad. They can go beyond the borders of our system and start expanding." said Jayne.

"Mal" said his wife, Inara Reynolds, with a gleam in her eye "We have to run. They have all of our names … but … what if we run in a way that they're not expecting us to?"

"What might you be saying dear?" asked Mal.

"Kaylee, how hard would it be to install this in _Serenity_?"

"What?!" exploded Mal "You want us to put an experimental engine, that we don't know what it will do, onboard my ship? Uh-uh, no way." He said as he turned away.

"Captain, according to these diagrams and manuals, I could have this done in … three or four hours, tops" said Kaylee.

River piped up by saying:

"I've managed to put enough distance between us and the cruisers, but that gap will close in four hours, fourteen minutes, and 53 … no 51 seconds. It'll take me one hour to install the console in the cockpit and tie it in to the navigational array."

To which Kaylee added:

"The major amount of time will be you and Jayne installing these sensory points on the outside hull. They send a signal to the central console to tell it what the dimensions of the … wormhole … will be."

Mal looked around at the crew. They were more than that to him though. They were his family and it was up to him to protect them. And that meant running.

"Alright, let's do this. River get working on the console, Simon you give her a hand. Jayne … you, me, and Zoe suit up and place these things on the hull. Inara, help Kaylee hook this thing up and program it. Lets move people, we're wasting time!"

They dispersed to their various tasks, resolute and determined that they were not going to take the fall for Wing's duplicity.

Jayne looked thoughtful as he followed Mal towards the forward hatch, mumbling to himself:

"Well … this ought to be interesting"


	4. Escape

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Firefly/Serenity (A show done before it's time), or the DC Comic and the places described here. No copyright infringement intended and no monetary profit. This is purely for testing my own creativity.

_Connor _

**Authors Note:** As always, I am constantly working to refine my writing technique to deliver as good of a story that I can for you, the readers, to enjoy. Constructive reviews are appreciated and negative criticism will be ignored.

* * *

**Bridge of the Cruiser I.A.V. **_**Los Angeles  
**_**The 'Black'  
****Approaching **_**Serenity**_

Captain Darius Shore paced the bridge of his ship with frustration.

After his warning to the captain of the cargo ship, the bastard had the audacity to run. He was issued a direct order from the legal authority, himself, and the ignorant scum had the audacity to ignore it.

Normally he wouldn't trouble himself with some simple smugglers, but the orders to detain this particular ship had come straight from the governor himself. Take the ship, get rid of the crew, and recover the cargo intact.

Well … simple enough … except for the whole 'ship running away' problem.

And now he was wasting time that could have been well spent with his escort. He had paid for the whole day with a Companion, only to be rudely interrupted halfway through.

The sooner they got this _go-se_ crap assignment over with the sooner he could get back.

"Captain" said his XO "We have _Serenity_ in range, should we initiate contact?"

Shore mulled this over for a minute then replied:

"No, just target the outrigger engines and stop her. Try not to hit the habitat areas; it'll make the cargo removal easier if there's air in there."

"Yes Sir."

"But … no worries if you do."

**XXXX**

**M/V _Serenity_ Bridge  
****The 'Black'**

River Tam sat in the pilot's chair of Serenity. What she could be described as doing was sort of … playing. She had figured out the co-ordinates for the Jump over an hour ago and was now working on a new problem in the back of her head.

She could do things like this because River Tam was a genius.

Her brain worked in ways that an average human couldn't perceive or comprehend. The Alliance had recognized that potential and had gone in to enhance it, or at least try to. But it hadn't exactly gone to plan. River had gone a little … crazy.

It hadn't been that way at first, but after the procedures were done that enhanced her physic potential, she had been open and receptive to every stray thought that come her way. This was what had scrambled her brain and had resulted in the Miranda affair that had almost broken the crew and the ship.

She ran her hand over the console in a warm loving gesture, tracing lightly over the plastic dinosaurs that were a remnant of the previous pilot, Wash. A fun loving man who had been loved by all the crew … well, sort of liked by Jayne. He had been killed landing on Mr. Universe's planet at the penultimate height and display of his prowess with a craft. River was a great technical pilot, but she could only hope to have a quarter of his innate flying skill.

Sometimes though … in the still of the watch when she was alone, plotting courses through the 'Verse system, she could almost _feel_ him on the bridge. And when she was able to display a particularly brilliant move with _Serenity_, she could almost feel his hands on the controls, guiding her.

She had a feeling that they would need his type of brilliance very shortly.

She checked the radar scanners. The Alliance cruisers were closing in and would be within firing range shortly. There was nothing else she could do to avoid them. Their plan had to work.

A presence made itself known in the back of her mind. Jayne came walking up the steps, coming up behind her. A hand came to rest on her shoulder, quite lovingly and gentle. You wouldn't expect that from Jayne, but things were … different between the two of them.

As with everything else, things changed after Miranda. River had most of her demons excised and she had returned to a semblance of normality. There were other small things coming to the surface, like the cryptic vision she had experienced hours ago. She had learned to deal with them and could handle them as they surfaced.

Jayne, always perceived as the roughshod mercenary, had become more respectful and less … crude. The reason for this was that he had lost a close friend and a father figure during the Miranda affair, in addition to almost losing his 'family', and it had changed him. Things between them had just happened and they were still figuring it out.

"Me, Mal, and Zoe got them sensy things installed on the hull. We about ready to get goin little bit?" he said.

"You say the sweetest things" she replied.

"Well … I … you know what I'm meanin"

Without looking up, she reached back and covered the hand resting on her shoulder. The unspoken message passed between them, comforting and reassuring both.

That was when the Alliance chose to open fire.

_Serenity_ rocked with the near explosion, the whole crew being tossed about.

**XXXX**

Mal and Inara were in the cargo bay watching Kaylee make some last adjustments to the FTL engine when _Serenity_ started bouncing to and fro.

"Captain!" came River's voice from the intercom "You better get up here. Everyone else, strap in! We're about to do some evasion techniques."

And with that, gravity started to lag behind as River started twisting and turning _Serenity_ though the void.

Mal glanced at Inara, who said:

"GO! Get us out of here!"

Mal turned and sprinted up the stairs, with Zoe following closely behind. They made their way to the bridge to be greeted with the sight of blue lasers flashing by and rockets exploding in the turning space.

"What's the situation Lil' Albatross?"

"I don't mean to alarm anybody … but I think we're being followed" replied River.

Mal stopped and looked at River a little queerly.

"What did you just say?"

She turned and looked at him briefly, flashing a smile before turning her attention back to flying. They gathered around her, each holding on to something as she weaved the ship through the ever increasing amount of weapons fire.

Just as suddenly as it began the weapons fire stopped and the communications console beeped with an incoming call.

Mal, knowing reached over and flicked the console on. The face of the Alliance Captain greeted him once more.

"Good Evening Captain Reynolds. This is Captain Shore of the I.A.V. _Los Angeles_. I am incredibly impressed with your pilot's flying skill. They've evaded every one of our shots so far. Commendable, if I do say so. However, there are four more Cruisers that are closing in fifteen to twenty minutes behind me. There is no way that you can avoid and outrun us. Surrender now and we will be lenient. _Dong ma_?"

Mal looked evenly at the console and waited a few seconds before replying, in a dark quiet voice.

"I've seen your leniency before … No decent man would enjoy it."

"Come now Captain, the Alliance is benev-"

The further winding speech from Shore was cut off by Mal reaching over and shutting off the feed. The rest of the crew, who had filed in while during the speech, stared at him with open mouths.

"What?" said Mal "He already knows our names and we're runnin anyway. Does that mean that I have to listen to him?"

Various mumbles of "No" came from everyone. Mal looked back over at River and asked:

"We ready little one?"

River didn't respond, all concentration focused on avoiding the shots being fired from the _Los Angeles_ again. Quite suddenly, she seemed to snap out of the intense concentration she was having and yelled at Mal:

"Captain, take the wheel. I'm going to setup the Jump out of here"

Mal jumped over to the co-pilots seat while River wheeled in her chair, her fingers flying over the FTL keyboard laid out beneath her. She seemed to sink into the focused trance again, strings of numbers flying across the small screen at dizzying speed.

Without stopping, she said to Mal:

"Incoming fire from the starboard side, evade."

"What?" replied Mal.

"Do a barrel roll, now"

"Again … what?"

Without even looking up from what she was doing, River reached over with her right hand and yanked the control wheel over to the left. Outside, the star patterns spun as Serenity flipped over and over, with missile trails flashing by the windows.

This continued for another 20 seconds before Mal managed to regain control of the vessel. Shooting River a dirty look, he banked away, starting a zigzag pattern. At this point, River's console beeped and she looked up saying:

"I've got the Jump co-ordinates set."

"Well then do something Lil' One!" said Mal.

"Powering up …"

Down in Serenity's hold, the twin ends of the engine began rotating in opposite directions, the hum of power coursing through it.

"Set!"

Light began emitting from both concentric ends of the Engine. Within seconds energy and electrical fields began flashing around the machine.

The warning radar beeped again, indicating that the _Los Angeles_ had let loose another barrage of missiles that they couldn't possible avoid.

River looked at the screen then away, saying:

"Here's something you can't do …"

She reached over and grabbed the blue key set into the console, twisting it.

Outside flashes of light rippled from the rear of _Serenity_ to the front. In barely the space of microsecond the flashes collated at the front of the ship and then ran backwards, enveloping _Serenity_. In a flash of light, she disappeared … the missile barrage flying right through where she had been.

**XXXX**

**I.A.V. _Los Angeles_**

"Captain, _Serenity_ … she's gone!" yelled the weapons officer.

Shore vaulted himself out of the chair.

"You idiots, did she explode? Did you accidentally hit the fuel cells?"

"No Captain … she just … disappeared."

Darius's face whitened. The only way it could have disappeared was if the criminals had used the Cargo … the one he was charged with recovering.

He was so humped.

**XXXX**

**_Serenity_**

As soon as River turned the key on the console, weird things began happening. Lights flashed on the outside of the hull and time almost seemed to slow. Visual perception was distorted. Things appeared to be growing larger and smaller at the same time. Then the light flashed and everything went back to normal again.

With one small exception. There was a rather large blue and green planet hanging in front of _Serenity._

Mal appeared to recover first. He started checking the instruments and throwing switches to start getting some readings. The answers he received weren't the ones he expected.

"River … this isn't Boros. As a matter of fact I can't get a reading from the NavSat's, the sensors don't record any beacons … and the star charts aren't showing any recognition at all. Where in the Gorram hells are we?"

No answer came forth from River, who was staring out at the small world hanging in front of their windows. Simon came up from the back where everyone else had silently been hanging back from the drama.

"River, what did you do?" he asked.

She seemed to come around at that answer. Turning in her seat, she faced the rest of the crew and her brother.

"I had no choice. He needs us." She replied.

"Who needs us? And also, like the captain asked … where are we?"

She turned back around in her seat and pointed.

"We're where we started, where we came from. This is our home … humanities home."

"I don't understand." said Kaylee "I've never seen any world with that much water … or green. What world is that?"

River lowered her hand and spoke one word.

"Earth"


	5. Earth

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Firefly/Serenity (A show done before it's time), or the DC Comic and the places described here. No copyright infringement intended and no monetary profit. This is purely for testing my own creativity.

_Connor _

**Authors Note:** As always, I am constantly working to refine my writing technique to deliver as good of a story that I can for you, the readers, to enjoy. Constructive reviews are appreciated and negative criticism will be ignored.

Please review. I want to know how the story is being recieved, so let me know.

* * *

"_I don't understand." said Kaylee "I've never seen any world with that much water … or green. What world is that?"_

_River lowered her hand and spoke one word. _

"_Earth" _

**XXXXXXXX**

**2520  
****Upper Orbit  
****Earth**

For about an hour after River had said that fateful word the crew of _Serenity_ sat in orbit scanning the world below them.

"Sir" said Zoe "Every reading is completely normal. There's no unusual radiation, land masses all match up with recorded historical outlines of Earth continents, Ocean temperatures are within the norm, and O2 levels are … fine. It's Earth, Sir"

"So it is" said Mal, quietly lost in thought.

"And there's no power either. Unless there's someone living at a Stone Age level, there's no one there …"

The whole crew hadn't moved from the bridge since River had told them the name of the planet. Jayne finally broke the spell by saying:

"_Wo ai ni_ … Mal, we should land. We can't stay up here forever."

"Yeah, Captain … we need to set _Serenity_ down and do a needed damage check." Said Kaylee

Mal stood between River and Zoe, each respectively occupying a pilots chair on the bridge. He looked long and hard at the world floating underneath his ship.

_That's it _he thought _That's really Earth, our ancestral home. How in the Gorram hell did we end up here?_

While he knew how they had ended up there, his mind still hadn't quite processed the turn of events. Then, while replaying events of the past few hours, something River had said caught up with him. Turning towards her, he asked:

"Little One … you said earlier 'He needs us' … who is He?"

River looked uncomfortable under his, and subsequently the rest of the crews, gaze. She hesitated before speaking.

"I've been practicing mental and physical meditation techniques that I learned from the Buddhist monks during the Captains Honeymoon. They've been proving quite effective at keeping control of my abilities, in addition to filtering out anything that might have been left over … like Miranda"

The crew looked away a little at the mention of that planet. It still held disquieting memories and old wounds for all of them. River continued:

"Over the last week or so I've been getting disquieting notions floating around the back of my head. Of all the thoughts that I had captured from Parliament members, this seemed to stick out once I heard the news about the engine theft. Through the mediation I discovered what they were. I had a vision pertaining to them."

None of the crew dared speak now. They knew the power of River's mind.

"I saw Earth, from space, as we sit right now. I saw a bald man in an old business suit … he was pure evil. I saw a palace made of crystal, surrounded by snow and ice. And then …"

She paused, almost as if gathering herself, trying to figure out how to present it so that she didn't seem crazy to them again.

"What did you see River?" asked her brother, Simon.

"I saw a man clothed in blue, with a red cape flowing behind him, and upon his chest sat a diamond crest with a large S set into it"

Before she could finish the statement, a loud gasp came from Inara. Everyone turned to face her. She had gone pale and was gripping the door frame with intensity, her knuckles turning white.

"What is it Inara?" asked Mal, concern for his wife showing through the stoic façade he was putting up.

"When I was little … my mother used to tell me stories about a Hero who had lived on Earth-that-was. The Hero wore dark blue, with a red cape, and a large S for a crest … set into a diamond pattern on his chest. He was called-"

"Superman" interrupted River.

Everyone had gone quiet at the name River had spoken. They had all heard fairy tales of the Superhero that had flown through Earth's skies. Everyone one of them had also dismissed it as myth.

According to River, though … the myth was real.

"River" said Simon "Are you sure that you hadn't picked up on some Parliament member thinking about a tale he might have told his kid?"

"No, I figured out where I got them from. President Luthor himself. And it wasn't enjoyment of a children's tale … it was hate I felt at the idea."

The crew all paled a little bit more at that news. President Alexander Luthor V came from a long line of powerful people. His ancestor was one of the people who had been instrumental in arranging the Exodus from Earth. His family line was hailed as the saviors of humanity. If River had gleaned something like this from him, then there had to be some sort of truth to it.

River waited while the crew digested this information, her gaze focusing on Mal. He was coming to decision, she could tell. And she picked up that he believed her, which warmed her heart. He really was like a father to her … better than her own had been, anyway.

"Little one, you said this crystal place was surrounded by a lot of snow and ice, right?"

"Yes Captain"

"Put us in a polar orbit and start scanning the poles. It should be in one of those areas."

River grinned. He believed and trusted her! Moving around in her seat, she started throwing switches and moving _Serenity_ to a different orbit. Setting the scanners to look for any sort of power source, she said quietly to herself:

"I know you're out there Superman … hold on a little bit longer, we're coming"


	6. The Fortress and a Message

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Firefly/Serenity (A show done before it's time), or the DC Comic and the places described here. No copyright infringement intended and no monetary profit. This is purely for testing my own creativity.

_Connor _

**Authors Note:** As always, I am constantly working to refine my writing technique to deliver as good of a story that I can for you, the readers, to enjoy. Constructive reviews are appreciated and negative criticism will be ignored.

* * *

"_I know you're out there Superman … hold on a little bit longer, we're coming" _

**XXXXXXXX**

**Earth  
****Artic Location  
****A room with a large computer console**

Inside a cold location, a single beacon light started blinking. Next to it, a screen lit up with power and words started scrolling across the screen:

_010010100100010 …  
__Warning! Active scans detected!  
__System unit Kelex activate  
__Fortress Status: _Off-line  
_Activating secondary systems …  
__Power levels 15 percent …  
__P__ower levels 33 percent …  
__Power levels 67 percent …  
__Power levels 97 percent …  
__Activating primary systems  
__Activating primary neural net  
__Fortress Status: _Online.

A noise came from a figure reclined in a nearby station. The figure proceeded to float up in the air and started inspecting the screens that were lighting up.

"Well" it said "It appears that the warning system sensors that the master installed are still working. And it also appears that someone is scanning for a power source. Let's see what I find out when I scan back."

The figures metallic fingers flew over the keyboard positioned there, the powerful sensor arrays pinpointing the source of the probe in the sky.

"Interesting ... It's a small vessel … twin hydrogen VTOL engines … Ion/Fusion reactor … and seven human life signs on board. My memory banks can't recall ever seeing a design like this before. Fortress, status report?"

A voice came from seemingly nowhere and everywhere at once.

"_Core systems are operating at 100 percent efficiency. All perimeter breaches have been healed. Outside system attacks have been purged._"

"Really. For how long have the repairs been completed?"

"_System repairs have been complete for 495 years, 6 months, and 12 days_"

The A.I. unit paused for a second, almost as if it was in shock.

"So much time has passed …" it said quietly. Then in a louder voice: "And why was neither I nor the Master awoken and informed of these developments? And why have we been shut down and the Master in stasis for the last 512 years?"

"_All systems had been shut down for power conservation except all that was necessary for life support and completion of the healing program for Kal-El. No instructions were received upon completion of tasks. Fortress went into shutdown/standby mode._"

"Why were none of the Masters allies informed?"

"_Records are corrupted from the initial viral attack. By the time the system was sufficiently recovered there were no indications of human life left on planet Earth_."

"… What?"

"_By logical deduction the human populace has either suffered mass extinction or has migrated to another stellar body_."

Since the scan of the ship orbiting the planet indicated human life, he didn't think that the extinction scenario was plausible. Then it occurred to him that they were all alone and he had a duty to take care of the Master after the grievous injuries he had sustained were healed. That included mental health, not just physical.

And the only way to make sure that the Master was sufficiently mentally healthy was to return him to humankind. Only they were qualified to make that diagnosis.

He cursed the day that his master programmed him with a sense of emotion and compassion. The people orbiting the planet were an unknown factor … but the only one they had at the moment. Kal-El could no longer afford to sleep. He needed to see what had become of his beloved Earth.

His processors quickly worked over the problem before deciding on a course of action. His metallic fingers flew over the keyboard, dictating commands to the system before setting back on his frame. Now … he waited. It was up to the crew of the ship up above to make the next move.

**XXXXXXXX**

_**Serenity  
**_**Earth Polar Orbit  
****Cargo Bay Walkway**

Malcolm Reynolds sat on the upper walkway, his legs dangling over the bay below. The object that concerned his attention was centered in the cargo area with all sorts of wires and lines leading out of it.

That damn engine.

Everything was going fine up until they took this job. They had taken a thrashing during the Miranda debacle, losing good friends … but they recovered and grown closer as a family. River had become a trusted crew member and a lot less crazy without her brain burning up from the secrets she held inside. She was also the closest thing to a daughter that he had.

She had also become even more stable with her attachment to Jayne. That had been a surprise to Mal … and one he still wasn't totally comfortable with. She claimed that the simplicity of his mind helped anchor her to this plane of reality even better than her purged mind. And for his part, Jayne had changed since Miranda. Losing Shepherd Book had done a number on him.

Mal could recall a few times when Jayne had been offered substantial sums to betray the crew. He had turned down each one of them and had even shot one of the guys in the head, killing him. When Mal had asked him why he hadn't taken the money, he had replied with a simple "You don't turn on family Mal … ever. It took me a while to remember that."

The biggest reason for Mal not castrating him for taking up with his "daughter" was now sitting down at his side. That reason was named Inara Serra Reynolds. Reynolds … he couldn't quite get over the fact that she now carried his last name in addition to his heart.

When she had decided to stay with the ship after Miranda, she hadn't moved back into her shuttle. Mal had come down the ladder that night, after finishing his shift on the bridge, to find her curled up in the sheets on his bed. He had made to leave, but her voice called out to him, asking him to stay.

Hesitant at first, she had promised him that she just needed him nearby, for comfort … not sex. They hadn't done anything of the lustful sort … for a while at least. She had just sort of moved into his quarters and they literally slept together. The first few ports of call after the disaster had been all about redefining her relationship amongst the crew and between the two of them as well.

She no longer plied her trade as a Companion, but she was using her contacts to secure business contracts for _Serenity _… in effect becoming the crew's business manager.

The examples of some of the ideas she came up with where exceptional, and kept the crew well employed. She farmed Jayne, Zoe, River, and Mal's mercenary and strategy abilities out to provide protection to outlying settlers against bandit raids. She marketed Simon as a traveling doctor, Kaylee as a mechanic for hire, and herself as a negotiator. In addition, she got a lot of the upper class gentry to move their goods with _Serenity_.

And below it all, she helped plan some of the less than legit jobs that they still pulled, although Mal still had final say in everything that happened … sort of. He was a bit more democratic with the overall decisions, but his final word was still law aboard his ship. They all silently acknowledged that he was the Patriarch of their little family. Calm had descended upon the ship, thanks in no small part to Inara's skillful handling of business affairs.

And every night she had made her way to his bunk.

The change in their relationship was marked by less fighting and quieter, intimate moments. Miranda had made them realize that there was no time to be wasted dancing around each other. A month and a half after she first showed up in his bunk, they had surrendered to each other. Some time later, she proposed to him and now carried his last name.

And she definitely had a way of influencing him. She had been the voice of reason when he had found out about Jayne and River, basically telling him to leave it alone. Yes … she had that power over him and he wouldn't have it any other way.

After all … the couches in the passenger bay area where quite lumpy and did a number on his back.

"Something on your mind, oh husband of mine?" said Inara, with a slight trace of the old banter that they used carrying through in her tone.

"Just you and everything that's transpired over the last half a day or so." he replied.

"I'm glad you're placing so much faith in River. She's taken us this far."

"Well, she has done more than proven herself to me and this crew. I'd be a fool to not see that she's getting some weird vibes from everything that's happened. You really think that this 'Superman' guy existed?"

"I don't know. Earth certainly isn't a fairy tale, seeing as how we're orbiting it right now. And River has never been wrong before. There might be something to all of this."

"Yeah … that's all well and good. But what about when we get back to the 'verse? What do we do then?"

"We take it one step at a time Mal. And before then, I'm sure you'll think of something. You're the best at that" she said.

Grinning, and feeling a might bit impish, Mal leaned over to capture a kiss from her lips. At that moment though, the intercom clicked on.

"_Captain, I'm receiving a message from the planet below. You'd better come up here and see this. No time for kissing._" said River.

Mal quietly cursed under his breath and started to get up.

"I swear, that girl likes to torture me" he said, rolling his eyes

"_And stop making faces, Captain_"

Stopping short and looking back at his wife, he saw a sprinkle of mirth in her eyes.

"I can't win." He said to her unspoken comment, making his way up to the bridge.

As soon as he got there, he was greeted by a somber Zoe and an ecstatic River who was practically bouncing in her seat.

"I knew he knew that we were here! He's here captain, I can feel it!"

"What in the Gorram hell are you talking about little one?"

River didn't respond but merely pointed to a message that was displayed on the screen. Mal bent over and read the words out loud to the rest of the crew, who were gathering again on the bridge.

_Welcome.  
__A representative of the house of Kal-El wishes to speak to the crew orbiting the planet Earth.  
__Please follow the beacon indicated._

"Well … that's a might bit peculiar. You gettin anything little 'tross?"

"Moments after we received that message, I detected a power source in the sub-artic fields on the North American continent. The beacon broadcast is being sent from the same area."

Mal looked back at his wife and the rest of the crew. It was decision time. Either they go and check out this message … or they go back to the 'verse and face the consequences, most of which probably consisted of imprisonment and torture.

_Not exactly plan 'A' _he thought.

"OK. Take us in."


	7. Chapter 7

Hello to all the readers that are following this story.

I wanted to take a minute to catch everyone up and let all of you know that I have not abandoned this body of work. With every story I write I do a full outline before hand and then flesh out the details before writing.

So, the stories are there just waiting for me to finish them.

Now … "Why haven't you finished them then?" is probably the thought going through your heads. Truth be told, I've run into a little stumbling/writers block with all the stories I'm writing.

There's also the fact that I'm trying to finish college taking 18 credits a semester, working 20-30 hours a week, running an experiment in a lab, and expecting the birth of my first child.

All of these things combined have tripped me up for a while and taken my attention away from this. However, I can't just leave them undone. Every story, once started, deserves to be told.

To that end I have re-tasked about an hour or so each night to writing these. That's about all I can spare at the moment. I've also been rereading some of the earlier work and noticed glaring inconsistencies along with spots where the story didn't really flow that well.

So rewrites and new chapters will be coming soon, just please be patient and bear with me.

Thank you all,

Connor


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